Psion
Adventurer
Secrets
Secrets is part of the series of the one-word topic titled supplements by AEG for d20 fantasy games. The book has an odd focus, providing secrets you can introduce in the game, along with background exposition and mechanics to carry it out. The book has writing contributions by Sean Bosker, Noah Dudley, Richard Farrese, Andrew Getting, Andrew Hudson, Jeff Ibach, Laura Scott, Douglas Sun, and Rob Vaux.
A First Look
Secrets is a 160-page perfect-bound softcover book priced at $26.95.
The cover of the book shared the same "piping" style that prior AEG generic d20 books have had. The cover illustration is by WotC alumni artist Matthew Cavotta, and is a watercolor style painting of a hooded creature of some sort (possibly undead.)
The interior is black-and-white and features artwork by Lisa Hunt and Amandine Labarre. The art is primarily simple line art, but shows good form and detail.
A Deeper Look
(Spoiler warning: Some, um, secrets are alluded to in this section.)
Long time readers of my reviews may know that I have commonly criticized AEG for failing to synthesize works by different authors into a consistent whole. Secrets takes a different approach. Instead of trying to lump everything together, each author contributes a chapter, which is written from the viewpoint of a sage or scholar of some sort (in some cases, second hand), relating some of the secrets they have stumbled onto in their lives.
The mechanics in each such chapter are essentially a miscellany of things that the focus character examined during their lives. Not all revelations are mechanical in nature, however. Some are plot hooks (like the secrets of an order of clergy, a secret order dedicated to preventing resurrection of tyrants, or a conspiracy within elven nations), or interesting background information (such as the true nature of fey). For example, in one of the more interesting chapters, an ill fated wizard and sage examines the nature of fey, and ley lines, and learns of reincarnation and past lives, tenth level spells, true names, cursed magic items, and the dragons of hell, all in a tragic tale of seduction and betrayal that ends in a horrible fate. Amidst this chapter are feats for characters taken in or related to the fey, ley lines, past life feats, powerful spells, truname spells, and descriptions of the dragons of hell.
Other chapters include such things as mechanics allowing a character to translate themselves to different layers of reality, new core class variants and prestige classes representing certain unique orders, unstable potions (potent but risky), new spells and cleric domains, amongst others. One of the later chapters also has a few locales for the players to explore. The secrets here also have a load of plot potential dealing with the typical D&D world, such as why orcs and elves really hate each other...
There are 8 major chapters in all. In addition to these, a pair of appendices provides a miscellany of short random secrets for the GM to flesh out, and a few player handouts for you to copy regarding some secrets herein.
Conclusions
In the past I have been critical of over-usage of flavor text and fiction in books. This is because such fiction is seldom useful.
Secrets bucks that trend. They way the book is designed, the flavor text is something you can use immediately in the game as clues for players to follow, tales to tell, and a source for adventure ideas. And it brings it all together with implementation of all the interesting points mechanically, which in turn will be instantly grounded in your campaign if you implemented the tales told in the book.
Overall, Secrets provides a nice selection of material to pull into a typical d20 Fantasy game.
The one thing I didn't like is that it was a little core class happy. Though most of the classes seemed playable, it seemed like some of them should have been implemented as feat chains or prestige classes, especially given that many of them imply membership in some secret order that might not be immediately accessible to neophytes.
Overall Grade: B+
-Alan D. Kohler
Secrets is part of the series of the one-word topic titled supplements by AEG for d20 fantasy games. The book has an odd focus, providing secrets you can introduce in the game, along with background exposition and mechanics to carry it out. The book has writing contributions by Sean Bosker, Noah Dudley, Richard Farrese, Andrew Getting, Andrew Hudson, Jeff Ibach, Laura Scott, Douglas Sun, and Rob Vaux.
A First Look
Secrets is a 160-page perfect-bound softcover book priced at $26.95.
The cover of the book shared the same "piping" style that prior AEG generic d20 books have had. The cover illustration is by WotC alumni artist Matthew Cavotta, and is a watercolor style painting of a hooded creature of some sort (possibly undead.)
The interior is black-and-white and features artwork by Lisa Hunt and Amandine Labarre. The art is primarily simple line art, but shows good form and detail.
A Deeper Look
(Spoiler warning: Some, um, secrets are alluded to in this section.)
Long time readers of my reviews may know that I have commonly criticized AEG for failing to synthesize works by different authors into a consistent whole. Secrets takes a different approach. Instead of trying to lump everything together, each author contributes a chapter, which is written from the viewpoint of a sage or scholar of some sort (in some cases, second hand), relating some of the secrets they have stumbled onto in their lives.
The mechanics in each such chapter are essentially a miscellany of things that the focus character examined during their lives. Not all revelations are mechanical in nature, however. Some are plot hooks (like the secrets of an order of clergy, a secret order dedicated to preventing resurrection of tyrants, or a conspiracy within elven nations), or interesting background information (such as the true nature of fey). For example, in one of the more interesting chapters, an ill fated wizard and sage examines the nature of fey, and ley lines, and learns of reincarnation and past lives, tenth level spells, true names, cursed magic items, and the dragons of hell, all in a tragic tale of seduction and betrayal that ends in a horrible fate. Amidst this chapter are feats for characters taken in or related to the fey, ley lines, past life feats, powerful spells, truname spells, and descriptions of the dragons of hell.
Other chapters include such things as mechanics allowing a character to translate themselves to different layers of reality, new core class variants and prestige classes representing certain unique orders, unstable potions (potent but risky), new spells and cleric domains, amongst others. One of the later chapters also has a few locales for the players to explore. The secrets here also have a load of plot potential dealing with the typical D&D world, such as why orcs and elves really hate each other...
There are 8 major chapters in all. In addition to these, a pair of appendices provides a miscellany of short random secrets for the GM to flesh out, and a few player handouts for you to copy regarding some secrets herein.
Conclusions
In the past I have been critical of over-usage of flavor text and fiction in books. This is because such fiction is seldom useful.
Secrets bucks that trend. They way the book is designed, the flavor text is something you can use immediately in the game as clues for players to follow, tales to tell, and a source for adventure ideas. And it brings it all together with implementation of all the interesting points mechanically, which in turn will be instantly grounded in your campaign if you implemented the tales told in the book.
Overall, Secrets provides a nice selection of material to pull into a typical d20 Fantasy game.
The one thing I didn't like is that it was a little core class happy. Though most of the classes seemed playable, it seemed like some of them should have been implemented as feat chains or prestige classes, especially given that many of them imply membership in some secret order that might not be immediately accessible to neophytes.
Overall Grade: B+
-Alan D. Kohler
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